Fractional Applied AI / R&D direction
Ongoing technical direction without creating a permanent role first
Reserved technical capacity for teams whose AI or R&D work needs continuity across architecture, experiments, implementation choices and changing evidence.
When fractional direction fits
The work is already in motion, but important questions fall outside the team’s normal operating envelope or exceed the available technical bandwidth. The team needs someone who can move between research and implementation, challenge assumptions and keep experiments connected to the decisions they are meant to support.
What the role can include
Work can cover applied-ML and LLM architecture, retrieval and knowledge systems, private or on-prem AI, agentic workflows, evaluation design, technical reviews, mentoring, experiment planning and the path from research evidence toward production decisions.
How the engagement operates
Capacity, priorities, cadence and responsibilities are agreed in advance. The focus may shift as experiments reveal new information, but the reserved time and decision ownership remain explicit. The purpose is continuity, technical judgment and hands-on contribution within agreed capacity.
Focused technical scope
This service concentrates on Applied AI, technical investigation and R&D direction. Responsibilities are agreed around the technical work rather than assuming company-wide IT ownership, fundraising, broad product management, security operations or unrelated executive functions.
A practical starting point
If the central uncertainty is not yet understood, begin with a feasibility assessment. Fractional direction is most useful when there is already a meaningful body of work, an engaged decision owner and enough access to make progress.
Background and proof
The selected-work accounts provide inspectable examples of research framing, implementation, benchmarking and explainable-ML evaluation. The full CV connects this approach to software engineering supporting NASA Ames via Amentum, computational neuroscience and independent product development.